Internal-combustion engine.



J. 8. JENNINGS, Jn. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 21, 1909.

Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

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APPLICATION FILED SEPT.21, 1909.

1,022,390. Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

JARVIS S. J ENNINGS, JR, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE THIRD TO BENJAMIN SIEGEL, PATRICK OBRIEN, AND LEO BREISACHER AND ONE-THIRD TO FRITZ GOEBEL, ALL OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 21, 1909.

Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

Serial No. 518,814.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JARVIS S. JENNINGS, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Internal-Combustion Engines, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, su h as will enable others skilled in the art lio which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thls specification.

My invention relates to internal 'combustion engines.

An object of my improvements is to secure a uniform quality of the explosive mixture in the cylinder when the power of the engine is varied.

I have shown my improvement in connection with a two-cycle engine in the accompanying drawings, in which, Figure l, is a side elevation of an engine embodying my invention, partly in section. Fig. 2, is a central section at right angles to the plane of Fig. 1.

Similar letters refer to similar parts.

M is the working cylinder and N the crank case of a two-cycle engine; 0 is the working piston; P the by-pass; Q the intake port to thecrank case; R the exhaust port and a the main shaft.

W is a piston dividing the interior of the cylinder M into a combustion chamber B between the pistons O and W and an air chamber A between the piston W and the head of the cylinder. The piston W is pro,- vided with the usual packing rings and is adapted to move in the cylinder M and to form a tight joint with the walls thereof.

D is a groove formed around the periphery of the piston W; C is a passageway in the piston W communicating with the groove D, and with the chamber A.

E E E, E, are apertures-or passages through the wall of the.cylinder M located in different planes longitudinally of said cylinder.

Gr is a hollow casing secured to the side of .the cylinder M and having passageways leading from its interior and communicatlng with the passages E, E E, E.

G is a hollow cylinder fitting in the casing Gr and adapted to turn and reciprocate therein; F F F, F, are apertures through the wall of the cylinder G located in different angular positions, that is to say, in different planes through the axis of said cylinder and spaced a distance apart longitudinally of the cylinder equal to the distance apart of the passageways, in the casing, which communicate with E E E, E.

I is a connecting-rod pivoted eccentrically to the shaft 11. so as to be oscillated by the rotation of said shaft so that one of the apertures F F, F, F, shall communicate with a passage E ,.E E or E, at the lower end of the travel of the piston O. The upper end of the connecting-rod I is secured to the cylinder G by a ball and socket joint.

J is a handle engaging the upper end of the cylinder G by which handle said cylinder may be rotated.

K is the cylinder of a small air pump secured to the cylinder M.

S is a connecting-rod, the lower end of which is pivoted eccentrically to a gear wheel 8 adapted to be rotated by a gear wheel upon the main shaft n of the cylinder. The piston of the air pump K is reciprocated by means of the connecting-rod S in the usual way. The piston of the air pump is so connected to the moving parts of the engine that it shall supply a small quantity of air to the air chamber A during the downward movement of the piston O and so that it shall start on its suction stroke slightly before the piston W reaches its lower limit, the pump supply port being so located as not to be uncovered by the piston until the suction stroke is nearly completed.

T is a ipe leading from the delivery ort of the cylinder R into the chamber A a ove the piston W in the cylinder M.

t 1s an inwardly opening non-return valve at the delivery end of the pipe T.

The operation of the above described device is as follows: The cylinder G is turned until one of the ports F F, F, F, registers with a corresponding passage in the easing which communicates with one of the apertures E E", E, E. In the operation of the engine air is intermittently supplied to the chamber A by means of the pump K, thus increasin the pressure in said chamber and acting to orce the piston W- downward.

' case may require.

When the piston W is forced down until the groove D registers with a port E E E or E, which is in communication with the outer air through the interior of the cylinder or plug G, the surplus pressure is discharged. The connectingrod I is so connected with the shaft n that the chamber A will be open through one of said passages at the lower end of the travel of the piston 0. When the piston O is in the position indicated in Fig. 2, the explosive mixture is forced into the combustion chamber B from the crank case through the bypass P in the usual manner, expelling the residual products of combustion from said chamber. As the piston O rises it compresses the charge above it, forcing the piston W upward and causing a compression of the air in the chamber A.

When the explosion occurs the piston W is forced still farther up being cushioned by the air above it and the shock of the explosion is lessened by the piston l-V yielding to its pressure. When the piston O has again descended the exhaust port It will be open discharging the products of combustion in the usual way and permitting the piston "W to descend under the impulse of the pressure above it until said pressure is relieved through that one of the ports E E E E, which is in communication with the outer air through the interior of the cylinder G. en the piston W has reached this position it will be prevented from falling much below it because if it did so it would close the port in the cylinder M and draw a vacuum above it moreover there would be some pressure in the combustlon chamber which would act to prevent the piston W from de'-' scending farther. If there is little or no throttling the cylinder G will be turned to put the upper passage E into communication with the outer air; if there is a greater degree of throttling said cylinder Will be turned to put the passage E into communication with the outer air; and so with still. greater degrees of throttling the cylinder G will be turned to put the passage E or E* into communication with the outer air as the When a change is made of the angular position of the cylinder G so as to bring a lower passage E, E or E into communication with the outer air the piston W will be forced down in one or more strokes by the air supplied by the pum K until said piston comes to a position in which the groove D registers with a port E, E or E*. Thus the lower position of the piston W may be adjusted by turning the cylinder G by the handle J. In this way the size of the combustion chamber is adjusted to the variable quantity of the expl o sive mixture which may be used for eachchargeand thus the degree of its dilution by the residual products of combustion may be made approximately uniform so that baclcfiring will be obviated, increased power will be obtained from the engine and uniformity of action will be secured.

It is obvious that the means for rotating the cylinder G and bringing the various ports E E E E in communication, as hereinbefore stated, may be connected to the means for controlling the throttle valve in the proper relation so that one movement of a lever will control both, and as these means of simultaneous control are old and Well known it is not deemed necessary to describe or illustrate them in detail.

What I claim is.

1. In an internal combustion engine the combination of a working cylinder, a working piston in said cylinder, a free piston fittingin said cylinder between the working piston and cylinder head, adapted to be elastically variably moved longitudinally therein by an excess of pressure upon one of its ends and dividing said cylinder into a combustion chamber and an air chamber, means for forcing air into said air chamber, and means for relieving the pressure in said air chamber at predetermined positions of said piston.

2. In an internal combustion engine the combination of a working cylinder, a working piston in said cylinder, a free piston fit ting-in said cylinder between the working piston -and'cylinder head, adapted to be variably moved longitudinally therein by an plying air to chamber A, a plurality of aper-.

tures through the wall of the cylinder M so located that they shall be put successively into communication with the chamber A as the piston W moves toward the piston O, and a valve adapted to put one of said apertures or another into communication with the outer air, means for adjusting said valve to put the required one of said-apertures into communication with the outer' air and means for reciprocating said valve.

4. The combination of the cylinder M, a piston O in said cylinder, a pistonW therein, between the piston O and the head of the cylinder, dividing the interior of said cylinder into chambers A and B, means for supplying air to'chamber A, a plurality of apertures through: the wall of the cylinder M so located that they shall-be put successively into'communication with thechamber A asthe piston W moves toward the piston O, and a valve adapted to put one of said apertures or another into communication with the outer air, a part of said valve being connected to the operative parts of the engine so that it may openthe required one of said apertures atthe required position of said operative parts. a p

5. In an explosive engine provided with a cylinder M, a piston O in said cylinder, a piston W in said cylinder, between the piston O and the head of the cylinder, dividing the interior of the cylinder into chambers A and B, means for supplying air to chamber A, a plurality of passages E, E through the wall of said cylinder so located that they shall be put successively into communication with the chamber A as the piston W moves toward the piston O, a casing on the outside of said cylinder, a hollow cylinder adapted to turn and reciprocate in said casing, said cylinder having apertures at different angular positions adapted to be put in communication respectively with one of the passages E E and means for reciprocating the cylinder in said casing, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. In an explosive engine provided with a cylinder M, a piston O in said cylinder, a piston W in said cylinder, between the piston O and thehead of the cylinder, dividing the'interior 'of the cylinder into chambers A and B, means for supplying air to chamber A, a plurality of passages E E through the wall of said cylinder, so located that they shall be put successively into communication with the chamber A as the piston W moves toward the piston O, a casing on the outside of said cylinder, a second cylinder adapted to turn and reciprocate in said casing, said second cylinder having apertures communicating with the outer air located at different angular positions, adapted to be put in communication respectively with one of the passages E E and a connecting rod pivoted eccentrically to the main shaft of the engine at one end and by a balland-so'cket joint with said second cylinder at'the other end. v

7. In an internal combustion engine, having a working cylinder, a working piston in said cylinder, a second piston engaging in said cylinder between the working piston and the head of said cylinder, means for supplying an elastic fluid under pressure to the "chamber formed between said second piston and the cylinder head, and manually controlled means for fixing the position of the range of travel of said second piston,

the said means controlling the said second piston through said elastlc fluid, substantially as described.

8. In an internal combustion engine, having a working cylinder, a working piston in said cylinder, a second piston engaging in said cylinder between the working piston and the head of said cylinder, 'means for supplying an elastic fluid under pressure to the chamber formed between said second piston and the cylinder head where it remains at all times exercising a substantially uniform pressure, and manually controlled means for fixing the position of the range of travel of said second piston, the said means controlling the said second piston through said elastic fluid, substantially as described.

9. In an internal combustion engine, having a working cylinder, a working piston in said cylinder, a second piston engaging between the working piston and the head of said cylinder, means for supplying an elastic fluid under pressure to the chamber formed between the said second piston and the cylinder head, and selective means for choosing one of a multiplicity of ranges of substantially equal travel of the said second piston, substantially as described. a 10. In an internal combustion engine, having a working cylinder, a working piston in said cylinder, a second piston engaging in said cylinder between the working'piston and the head of the cylinder, means for supplying an elastic fluid under pressure to the chamber formed between said second piston and the cylinder, head, and means for varying the position ofthe range of travel of the said second piston by controlling the discharge of the elastic fluid from said chamber, substantially as described.

11. In an internal combustion engine havin a working cylinder, a working piston in said cylinder, a second piston engaging in said cylinder between the working piston and the head of the cylinder, a cushioning element between the second piston and cylinder head having at all positions of the second piston a uniform elasticity, and means for selectively choosing the position'of the range of travel of said second piston without materially altering its distance of travel when subjected to stress, substantially as described. r

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

' JARVIS S. JENNINGS, JR.

Witnesses:

N. V. Bmmns, R. A; PARKER. 

